1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game system using a computer and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been a fishing game for virtual experiences of fishing, in which a fishing spot is displayed on a screen of a display device as this kind of game, and positions and behaviors and so on of a contrivance and a fishing rod in the screen are changed, according to a player""s operation for an input device. Especially, there have been developed many games for lure fishing having various kinds of strategic characteristics in selection of fishing points, lures, approaches, and their combinations. For reference of players, there have been games displaying a mark giving a sign of fish, that is, a presence of fish, to a place where there are fish in groups.
However, there have been limits in amount of information to be displayed by showing such signs of fish, and then, such signs have not been enough as a clue for players to get information on a fish arrangement. Though, for example, there is fish behavior that small fish forms a group, and big one solitary behavior, a conventional method for displaying signs of fish may not express the such difference in grouping patterns.
The present invention has an object to provide a game system to display larger amounts of information on fish arrangements to players than those of conventional one, and a computer-readable medium suitable for the above game system.
A game system of the present invention comprises: an image display device; an input device to output signals according to a player""s operation; a control device to proceed with a fishing game in a virtual fishing spot, and to display images on a screen of the display device according to a progressing states of the fishing game, referring to outputs of the above input device. The control device comprises: arrangement decision device to decide a fish arrangement in the above virtual fishing spot; detection device to detect a fish distribution in a detection range defined on a line connecting two positions in the fishing spot; and distribution display device to display a gauge extending in a direction of one axis on the screen of the display device, and to display information according to a detected result of the distribution at each position of the detection range, at each position on the gauge, replacing a distance from one end of the detection range to each position within the detection range with a distance from one end of the gauge to each position in said gauge. Thereby, the above mentioned problems may be solved.
According to the present invention, a player may easily understand the fish arrangement with its position since the fish distribution is detected on the gauge, with each position within the detection range, and each position on the gauge in correspondence with each other. Therefore, larger amount of information on the fish arrangement may be given to the player in comparison with a conventional games in which only fish groups are displayed. Numerals, figures, signs and so on corresponding to numbers and sizes of the detected fish, may be used as information displayed at each position on the gauge. At least one of a color, a pattern, a contrast, or a tone may be changed according to the fish distribution at each position. Thereby, as the fish distribution may be displayed in the gauge extending in a direction of one axis, the fish distribution may be easily displayed even on a game system with limited displaying ability such as a hand-held game device.
The game system of the present invention may be provided with detection range display device to display information (31, 34) to specify the detection range, on images according to the fishing spot displayed in the display device. In this case, a player may easily understand which part in the fishing spot is displayed on the gauge as a fish distribution.
Moreover, a game system may comprise position change device to change at least one of two positions defining the detection range, according to a predetermined position change operation for the input device; the detection device may perform re-detection of the fish distribution after redefinition of the detection range in cooperation with the position change by the position change device; and the distribution display device may update the display on the gauge corresponding to the re-detection of the distribution. In this case, a fish distribution within a new detection range distribution is displayed on the gauge according to the position change a player""s operation. Thereby, the player may confirm the fish distribution within various kinds of ranges in the fishing spot.
The game system of the present invention may comprises width change device to change the width of the detection range. Thus, a fish distribution within a suitable range may be displayed to a player according to the condition.
The above distribution display device may display information according to a detected result of the distribution by changing display appearance (for example, a color, contrast, tone, and pattern) at each position on the gauge, depending on the presence or absence of fish at each position within the detection range. Thereby, it may be possible to read on the gauge that smaller fishes are in groups and big fishes perform solitary behavior, as places with fish and those without fish are clearly divided on the gauge.
In a preferable embodiment of the present invention, the detection range is set on at least a part of the range on the line connecting a start and a planned casting position of a contrivance in the fishing spot. Here, the planned casting position means a position at which a contrivance is predetermined to arrive, viewed from a state before casting of the contrivance. When the detection range is defined between such positions, more useful information may be given to the player, as fish distribution in at least a part of the range on a retrieval path of the contrivance is displayed on the gauge.
In the above embodiment, there may be provided position display device to display images to respectively specify the start and planned casting position on images according to the fishing spot displayed on the display device. Thereby, the player may easily and properly understand a fish distribution on the retrieval path of the contrivance, having information on the gauge and information on the casting start position and on the planned casting one as a hint.
Further, there may be provided position change device to change at least one of the start and the planned casting position according to a predetermined position change operation for the input device; the detection device may perform re-detection of the fish distribution after redefinition of the detection range depending on the position change by the position change device; and the distribution display device may update the display on the gauge corresponding to the re-detection of the distribution.
In this case, the player may select the best start or the planned casting position by changing various kinds of the start and planned positions of casting with checking the fish distribution on the gage.
In addition, there may be provided detection range change device to change the width within the detection range according to the kind of the contrivance. Thereby, a fish distribution within a range suitable for each contrivance may be displayed to the player by changing the detection range according to the difference, when a plurality of angles have different ability for luring fish from each other.
The game system may comprise a contrivance position display device on the gauge or in the vicinity thereof in order to display images denoting the current position of the contrivance.
Then, the player may decide whether or not the contrivance is passing through a part with the presence of fish in the process of retrieving the contrivance, using the display of the gauge as a hint. Therefore, the concern of the player for retrieving operation of the contrivance may be raised by changing the expecting degree of the player in the process of retrieving the contrivance.
The game system may comprise casting execution device to cast the contrivance at any position on the line connecting the start and the planned casting position, corresponding to a predetermined casting operation for the input device.
Thus, it may be possible to closely relate the display on the gauge to the operation to retrieve the contrivance, as the contrivance always passes through the detection range during the retrieval process.
In the game system of the present invention, the arrangement decision device may be desired to decide the fish arrangement, considering fish behavior that the smaller fish has the more remarkable tendency to form a group, and the bigger one has the more remarkable tendency to have solitary behavior.
The storage medium of the present invention is a computer readable storage medium having recorded therein a program to progress a fishing game in a virtual fishing spot, referring to outputs of an input device of a game device, and to display images on a screen of a display device of the game device according to a progressing states of the fishing game, and it is wherein the program makes a computer installed in the game device function as arrangement decision device to decide a fish arrangement in the virtual fishing spot; detection device to detect fish distribution in a detection range defined on a line connecting two positions in the fishing spot; and gauge display control device to display a gauge extending in a direction of one axis on a screen of the display device, and to display information according to a detected result of the distribution at each position on the detection range, at each on the gauge, replacing a distance from one end of the detection range to each position within the detection range with a distance from one end of the gauge to each position in said gauge.
According to the storage medium of the present invention, the computer may function as a control device in the game system of the present invention by making the computer read the program for execution.
The term xe2x80x9ccontrivancexe2x80x9d in the present invention includes lure, fly, pseudo food and other kinds of elements to be operated for catching fish in actual fishing. The storage medium includes a magnetic storage medium, an optical storage medium, a magneto-optical storage medium, a semiconductor storage element, and other kinds of storage device.